Man Charged With Murder In Fatal Aldi Robbery

Develt Bradford, 52, is charged with first-degree murder and armed robbery for killing a security guard during a robbery at the Aldi in the 9000 block of South Halsted Street on Nov. 10, 2011. (Credit: Chicago Police Department)

CHICAGO (STMW) — One of two men accused in last week’s robbery of a South Side Aldi store that left a security guard dead and a customer injured was charged Wednesday night with first-degree murder.

Develt Bradford, 52, of 5300 S. Damen Avenue, is charged with first-degree murder and armed robbery for the Nov. 10 robbery, according to Cook County State’s Attorney’s office spokeswoman Tandra Simonton. Bradford was also charged with two counts of armed robbery for another holdup at the Aldi at 47th Street and Ashland Avenue on Oct. 28.

Bradford will appear for a bond hearing on Thursday, she said.

The other suspect remains at large, authorities said.

The Nov. 10 robbery happened at the Aldi in the 9000 block of South Halsted Street at 7:27 p.m., police said. One of the two men walked up to a register at the store and announced the robbery. That’s when a 54-year-old security guard became involved in a struggle with one of the men, who pulled out a handgun and shot the guard multiple times in the head and upper torso, police said.

He was identified by the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office as Reginald Lanier, 54, of 11647 S. Campbell Ave., and he was dead at the scene of the shooting at 9017 S. Halsted St.

A 67-year-old woman was also shot in the leg as she tried to get out of the store, police said. She was taken initially in serious-to-critical condition to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, according to Fire Media Affairs.

Police last week issued a community alert featuring both still images of the men as they entered the store, as well as a video. One of the robbers is black man with a medium build in his 20s or 30s and is 5-foot-11 to 6-foot-3. The other man has a slender build and is in his 40s or 50s. He is black, 5-foot-6 to 5-foot-10 and was wearing eye glasses, the alert from Calumet Area detectives said.

Distraught relatives identified the guard as Reginald Lanier, a father of one. Lanier had only worked at the store for three or four months, lost a nephew to gun violence last week and was worried about his safety at the store, said his brother-in-law, Horace Page Jr.